“I think I need to be careful that I don’t end up despising prophecy,” I confessed, a bit embarrassed and confused.

I was with a church leader I hadn’t seen for about a year, and he had just asked me how I was doing. These were the first thoughts that formed in my mouth, much to my surprise. Perhaps equally surprising was his response - it looked like I had just knocked his funny bone.

“Please tell me more,” he replied, his struggles clearly mirroring my own.

I paused for a moment, thinking deeply. How had I got to this place?

To be honest, I was a bit shocked. I’ve always loved the gift of prophecy. I teach on it, I’ve been blessed by it and I’ve even written a book on it. I know that prophecy is supposed to be encouraging, comforting and edifying (1 Corinthians 14:3), but here I was, feeling frustrated, confused and disillusioned. How was I now teetering on the precipice of hardhearted cynicism towards it? “I just don’t want anyone to give me another prophetic word,” I recall recently saying to my husband.

The long wait

As I reflected over the past three years, I could see a few signs that had led to this.

Firstly, I had felt God speaking to me personally about something that, so far, hasn’t happened. “Hope deferred makes a heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12). It’s hard to wait on unfulfilled promises and not become disillusioned. “Did God really say…?” you find yourself wondering.

Secondly, there were the prophetic words given to me by others. I had recently listed everything our family had received over the past year and in it were words that seemingly opposed one another, there were conflicts between others and some were been measurably wrong, with deadlines that had come and gone.

As I pondered some more over the coming days, five things stood out to me - things that can either make, or break, our attitude towards the gift of prophecy:

You don’t know everything, so be careful
Timing is different to God
Language matters
Beware isolation
Humility is key

1. You don’t know everything, so be careful

“We know in part and we prophecy in part” (1 Corinthians 13:9, NIV). The NLT puts it this way, “Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!”

It’s important to remember this, both when giving and receiving words. When it comes to the gift of prophecy, we’ve been given a snapshot of something. And like a single jigsaw piece out of a 1000 piece puzzle, it will be missing a lot of information. So sometimes we add stuff - we insert our filler thoughts, we jump to conclusions and we assume things we shouldn’t. Our brain and our pride like to fill in gaps, because we’re not always comfortable with the unknown.

As both the speaker and receiver of prophetic words, we need to remember that our knowledge is partial and incomplete. You don’t know everything, so be careful.

2. Timing is different to God

I learned this the hard way. I have been absolutely convinced that something was to take place imminently only for it to happen many years later.

In Revelation we read how Jesus said, “I am coming soon” (Revelation 3:11, ESV). Later, in Revelation 22:20, it says, "He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”" ‘Soon’, to a God of all eternity, does not necessarily mean the same ‘soon’ to a mortal like you and me!

Sometimes we have to wait a lot longer for the fulfilment of God’s words, and in the waiting not allow it to lead to a hard heart. Be patient. Continue praying. Also, be careful how you interpret what you’ve received prophetically through the lens of your current perspective and circumstances. God doesn’t always speak into our immediate context; sometimes He speaks of times yet to come. If we assume it’s all about the now and the next, we can be in danger of misapplying what He’s said.

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.” (2 Peter 2:8-9)

3. Language matters

Watch your wording. Opening with “I had a vision and the Holy Spirit told me by divine revelation that…” compared to, “I was praying earlier and I felt that God may have showed me something…” when sharing a prophetic word affects the way it is received and weighed.

We know in part, we prophecy in part, and we will never have all of the information - so it is important to use language to reflect that. When giving prophetic words, recipients should be left feeling free to weigh them and to reject some or all of it if they feel it’s not from God (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21).

However, if we phrase things using heavily spiritual language it can leave no room for a person to appropriately test prophetic words. Instead, it can leave them feeling as though they are rejecting the very words of God and thus wounding their conscience (1 Corinthians 8:12, Matthew 18:6). That, to me, is dangerous and should be avoided.

[A little extra note for church hosts: Not every word, dance or thought that is shared from the front will be prophetic. Being careful not to tag the word ‘prophetic’ as we introduce a contribution will help people not to become cynical about the gift!]

4. Beware isolation

Isolation brings distortion but community brings perspective.

"Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said” (1 Corinthians 14:29). Having wise and godly people around us helps safeguard ourselves from misinterpretation. When we share with others what we sense God is saying to us - the prophetic words we’ve received from others or what we feel He has spoken directly to our own hearts - we receive the help we need to discern what God is saying correctly.

Several times over the past few years, I’ve been so grateful for those around me who have gently voiced, “Anna, I’m not quite so sure this is the only way to interpret that…” And they’ve been right. Revelation is personal, but interpretation is collective.

5. Humility is key

Given all of the above, humility is key.

We’re on a journey, in an ongoing relationship with God Almighty! Part of this journey will involve making mistakes in listening to and understanding our wonderful Creator God - and that’s okay! Our ultimate aim is not perfect prophecies - but LOVE. Remember Paul’s words: “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge…but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2 - emphasis added).

So when you realise that you may have gotten something wrong in your prophetic words, simply apologise. Don’t be defensive, or insist that it was significant (that’s for them to weigh and decide). In fact, you can do harm trying to explain away your prophetic mistakes instead of just admitting that you hear in part - and that you’re a work in progress! We can protect the respect given to the gift of prophecy amongst God’s people by learning to own the mistakes we make and the moments when we mishear.

As we continually humble ourselves before the Lord, asking for His help in learning, and growing both from ours and others’ mistakes, we will keep our hearts soft and not allow the enemy to sow bitterness or resentment in us or others towards the prophetic.

Let me finish with this thought:

The prophetic gift is a powerful, Spirit-given tool for the Church to help build one another up. Like a sharp surgeon’s knife, let us approach it with the care and precision it deserves.

Used in the right way, it can bring so much healing and strength to the body, so let’s work together to ensure no one despises the gift of prophecy.